Living for today - Planning for Tomorrow
Recently I heard a financial saying that was new to me online: you can’t out-earn bad spending habits. This is such a true statement. No matter how high your income is, if you don’t have financial discipline and try to live frugally, you can easily inflate your lifestyle to the point where you’re living paycheck to paycheck. After all, many lottery winners end up in
Deciding whether or not to give to charity is tough. You want to give back, but can you afford to donate if you’re in debt or having trouble saving for retirement? You may also be worried your donation won’t make a difference, especially if you can only make a small contribution. Some charities spend as much as 80% of donations on overhead costs. Depending on
Before I moved to rural Michigan, I had always lived in cities or suburbs. I never imagined that I would end up living in a farmhouse out in the country. But my partner dreamed of moving back to the Midwest and settling down on a big tract of land in a quiet, small town. Since I can work from anywhere as long as I have
Speaking from experience, it’s hard to watch friends and family members make financial mistakes. Most of my immediate family, including my parents and older sister, aren’t very financially literate. My parents ended up deep in consumer debt due to their lavish spending habits. Although they’re doing better now and are almost debt-free, they still spend too much on extravagances. My mom wastes $400 per month
One of the biggest surprises when I moved out on my own for the first time was how much cleaning supplies and household goods like tissues cost. The average American household spends $40 to $50 per month on cleaning supplies and $60 per month on personal care products and services. But luckily you don’t have to spend $1,300 per year just to keep your home
As a personal finance writer, I’m supposed to stay on top of financial news and know what’s going on. So I’m kind of embarrassed to admit that I missed my chance to refinance my home before interest rates rose. We got busy with life and put off refinancing, which turned out to be a big mistake. Why We Wanted to Refinance My partner and I
Life insurance is an important but often overlooked aspect of personal finance. If you have people who rely on you financially, it’s important to make sure they’d be taken care of if you got injured or passed away. Although no one likes to think about getting sick or dying, it’s better to be prepared than to be caught off guard. That’s why my partner and
Many people see frugality as a chore or a burden. Why would anyone want to add penny-pinching and coupon clipping to their already packed to-do list? But since I adopted a more frugal mindset, I’ve found I actually have more free time, not less. Because I don’t have to chase money to fund an inflated lifestyle, I can rest when I need to and focus
When you first set a financial goal, working towards it feels new and exciting. You may spend a lot of time researching ways to save money and feel motivated to change your lifestyle to get closer to your goal. But after a while, the shine wears off and you enter into a phase called “the boring middle.” When you’re in the boring middle, you feel
In the past decade, consumer attitudes have shifted from valuing things to experiences. Nearly 80% of consumers worldwide would rather spend their money on experiences than material goods. Instead of buying a shiny new car, most people want to travel, go to concerts, and make memories with family and friends. Some studies have shown that spending money on special events tends to make people happier
